System of electrical signaling for railroads.



No. 734,655. h PATENTED JULY 2a, 1903 I '0. BARBER;

SYSTEM-0P ELECTRICAL SIGNALING FOR RAILROADS.

. APPLICATION FILE D MAR. 14, 1902.

2 8HEETS-BHEET 1.

NO MODEL.

5 I JME QN Y M L Q \RM 1 m: News #51255 co, "momma, wumucmmn c PATENTEDJULY 28, 1903.

No. 734,565. I V

0. BARBER.

SYSTEM OF ELECTRICAL SIGNALING FOR RAILROADS.

v APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 14. 1992.

no MODEL.

2 sI nnTs-sfiluT 2 N T ED Stuns" Fatented July 28, 1903;. PATENT Fries.

CYRUS BARBERDF KEENE, EW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR OF-SEVEN -EIGHTHS o DANIELR. ooLE, JOSIAH w. BUCKMINSTERAND CHARLES c, PUT- NEY, on KEENE, NEWHAMPSHIRE, ANDrAnL s. HORTON, on WARREN,

PENNSYLVANIA.

SYSTEM OF ELECTRICALQSIGN-ALING FOR RAILROAD-S;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 734,655, dated July28, 1903;

Application filed March 14, 1902. Serial No. 98.222. (No model.)

To all whom it nnty concern:

Be it known that I, CYRUS BARBER, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Keene, in the county of Cheshire and State. of NewHampshire, have invented a new and useful System of Electrical Signalingfor Railroads, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in electrical signalingsystems of that to class employed for signaling between trains andstations on a railway-line, and has for its principal object to providea system by means of which trains entering and leaving a block A willautomatically close an alarm-circuit at a block-station and in which atrain entering on an occupied block will sound an alarm in the engineofthe train already in said block. A A stillfurther object of theinvention is to provide foraready means of communication, as by.telephone or telegraph, between two trains on the same block or betweenany blockstationand a train or trains on the block or blocks to'whichthe station is connected.

- A still further object ofthe invention is to provide for the automaticmovement of the connecting devices from contact with the conf ductingdevices on approaching a crossing,

switch, or the like where a traffic-rail is disposed in the path of theconductors and to automatically rengage the connecting devices with theconductors after passing such crossing or switch. 1

A still further object of the invention is to so dispose and arrange thecurrent-conductors on the third rail as to reduce to a mini: mum thechances of accidental short-circuit:

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in thenoveLconstruction 0 and arrangement of parts 'hereinafterdescribed,illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

A s In the drawings, Figurelisadiagram illustrating an electricalsignaling system arranged in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is arear elevation, partly in section, of the system, illustrating thetraffic-rails, the

third rail'having current-conductors, a portion of a locomotive, and thecontacts carried thereby. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view ofthe same. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the carriage which supports thecontact-blocks. Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view of the same on the line5 5 of Fig- 4.. .Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of a crossing, showingthe contact devices elevated.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to designate correspondingparts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The traffic-rails 10 are-arranged and constructed in the usual mannerfor thesupport 'ofthe wheels of the train and are not employed asconductors in connection with the present system. 6

Arranged centrally between the traffic-rails is a third rail 11, whichmay be formed of any suitable material, the opposite sides of the railbeing recessed or provided with longitudinal grooves for the receptionof insulating material 12, serving as a support for twocurrent-conducting bars or wires 13 and 14, through which communicationmay be estab- 'lished between trains andstations along the ways formedin a support 18, depending from the frame of'the locomotive or car,the'upper end of the carriage being provided with a guiding stem 19,extending up ,through a suitable opening in the support, and a spring 20being employed tonormallyhold or press the antifriction-wheel 16 againstthe third rail.

On each of the carriages are arranged two contacts, one disposed oneither side of the carriage and adapted for contact with the curv9 5rent-conducting rods or wires 13. Each con face may be kept in intimatecontact with the wires or rods. The contact-faces 23 and 24 pressagainst the conducting wires or rods 13 and 14, respectively, and saidcontact-faces form the terminals of a circuit, including a telephone 25in the cab of the engine, the telephone system being arranged in theordinary manner and provided with a call-bell 26, which may be soundedwhen the calling-circuit is energized. The circuit is completed by thewires 13 and 14, extending, respectively, from the contact-faces 23 and24.

Each block or section of the road is separate from adjacent blocks, thecurrent-conductors being connected at the ends of the block by wires 2728 to a station comprising telephone and provided with suitablebatteries or other devices for energizing the circuit, and at a pointnear each end of the block are arranged fixed contacts 29, forming theterminal of a circuit which includes a battery 30. The contact-blocks 29are arranged at each end of the block and are preferably disposed indifferent order, or the number may vary at opposite ends of the block inorder that a suitable signal may be sounded in the station to determinewhen a train enters and when it leaves the block. These contact-blocksare brought into contact with the contact-block 23, carried by one ofthe pivoted contact-arms on the carriage, While that portion of thecontact wire or rod 14 opposite to the contact-block 29 is insulated orcovered in a manner which will prevent electrical contact between thesurface 23 and the conducting wire or rod during the time thecontact-face 23 is in contact with the block 29.

The arrangement of the circuit is such that the telephone at a stationwill be arranged connected with the telephone of each train or block, sothat the attendant at the station can open communication with any trainon the block, or vice versa, or one train may communicate with anothertrain on the block by operating the telephone calling-circuits in theusual manner.

When a train enters or leaves the block, the contacts of the block 29and the contactface 23 will temporarily establish a circuit through thestation-battery 30, the auxiliary station-circuit, and a callingcircuitof each train-telephone on the block, so that the station agent isnotified of the entry of the train on the block and is likewise notifiedwhen the train leaves the block, the number of contacts being varied, sothat the different signals may be clearly defined. In similar manner anytrain already on the block is immediately notified on the entry of asecond train or on the leaving of such a train.

In the operation of the system the movable contacts carried by thelocomotive-carriage are kept constantly in contact with the conductors13 and 14, so that on the closing of the circuit the call-signals willbe sounded, or on energizing a circuit in the usual manner by thetelephone-switch or magneto the alarm will be sounded in each train onthe block and blockstation.

The conductors l3 and 14 are arranged on opposite sides of the thirdrail, so as to minimize the chances of accidental short-circuiting, asin the event of a workman placing a bar on the rails.

In order to prevent grounding at crossings and at other points wheretraffic-rail may lie in the path of the third rail, the third rail mustbe discontinued and the current-conductors l3 and 14 be carried underground between the sections of the third rail. To prevent any accidentalcontact between the contact-carriers and the crossing traffic-rail, thecarriage is connected to a vertically-disposed bar 35, adapted to adovetailed guiding-slot 36 in the carriage-support, the lower end ofsaid bar being connected to a pivoted shoe 37, which makes contact witha guardrail or similar device so arranged as to move the bar upwardly,raising the contact-arms to the block from the conductors and permittingsaid contact-arms to pass over the traffic rail or rails withoutstriking the same. The guard-rail is as a matter of course in sections,so that the crossing traffic-rail may freely pass, the shoe 37 beingmade of sufficient length to bridge the space between sec tions of theguard-rail and keep the contactarms in elevated position until suchcrossingrail is passed, after which the guard-rails are inclined in anopposite or downward direction to again permit the contact-arms toconnect with the conductors 13 and 14. The upper ends of thecontact-armsare bent inwardly to some extent and when slightly raisedare brought into contact with oppo' sitely-disposed shoulders on thecarriage-support, the contact-faces of the arms being separated, so asto permit perfect freedom of movement during the vertical travel of thecarriage.

While the construction of parts and the arrangement of the system asherein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings'is thepreferred embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that variouschanges in the form, proportions, size, and minor details of theapparatus may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificingany of the advantages of my invention.

Having thus described myinvention, 'what I claim is 1. A railwaysignaling system, comprising a pair of main conductors arranged alongthe road-bed,contact devices carried by the trains for engaging saidconductors, signaling devices carried by the trains, signaling devicesarranged in the railway-stations, an auxiliary alarm-circuit connectedto the signalingcircuit, an auxiliary contact forming one terminal ofthe alarm-circuit, said auxiliary contact being arranged adjacent to aninsulated portion of one of the main conductors and being engaged by thecontact devices carried by the trains for closing the alarm-circuit inthe trains and stations as the train is leaving or entering a block.

2. A block-signaling system for railways, comprising signaling and alarmdevices arranged at the block-stations and on the trains, a pair of mainconductors arranged in the signaling-circuit and one of which forms apart of the alarm-circuits, said conductors extending along theroad-bed, contact devices carried by the trains for engaging-said mainconductors, auxiliary stationary contacts forming the terminals of thealarm-circuits and adapted to be engaged by the train contact devices toclose an alarm-circuit as the train is leaving or entering ablock, one

of said main conductors being bent out of the path of travel of thetraveling contact device by which it is normally engaged at pointsopposite said auxiliary stationary contacts.

3. In a device of the class described, a third rail having grooves inits opposite sides, in-i sulated conductors arranged in said grooves,

' a vertical guide-carriage having a supporting-wheel for contact withthe top ofthe rail, a pair of contact-arms pivoted to the carriage andadapted to engage the conductors, a shoe depending from the carriage,and means disposed at railway-crossings for engaging said shoe andelevating the carriage to prevent contact of the carriage and its armswith crossing rails.

4. In a device of the class specified, a third rail, a pair ofconductors arranged on opposite sides of the rail, a vertical movablespring-pressed carriage having a supportingwheel for contact with thethird rail, a support for the carriage, a vertically-guided bar carriedby said support and connected to the carriage, a pivoted shoe connectedto said CYRUS BARBER.

Witnesses:

Jno. E. PARKER, FRANK S. APPLEMAN.

